Bass Traps: Dealing with bass build up in corners - AcousticsInsider.com

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Are you dealing with heaaavyyyyy bass build up in a corner or some part of your room?
So when you play some music all hell breaks loose?
And now you're wondering how to best tackle the problem?
Surely that can't be good...
Does this mean your room is particularly bad?
Can you even get good sound in there?
In this video I want to show you what you can expect, what do to do if you're in this situation, and most importantly: what not to do.
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[@Chase1297]

There’s one corner in my living room that’s absolutely deadly. Fat juicy bass in there even at levels where I can’t even hear the sub at the listening position. Pisses me off lol

[@osliverpool]

Excellent advice there. In my listening room, there's a big bass build-up corner to corner across the rear wall (where there's an alcove at one side). But I can only hear it if I go stand back there, which I think makes the answer kind of obvious ;-)

[@dougleydorite]

I think some acousticians will say it’s important to treat the bass buildup to deal with standing waves whereas other acousticians won’t

[@zzt231gr]

A+ as always!

[@pistopitpit]

Who cares what happens in the corner with the bass? I found out yesterday that my neighbour above me does. As for the bass at my listening position I am pretty happy with it.

[@alt3rnatywa]

Super tips. Your Channel Mega acoustic It does a brilliant job. Only factual information.

[@christianbjornolsson]

Grüße aus Dänemark, Jesco! I was wondering if you could cover this question in your next # knowledge bomb video: Is it possible to additionally cover the rockwool in bass absorbers with some thin plastic underneath the cloth - in order to minimize health risk of rockwool particles - without affecting absorption of low frequencies?

[@FuriousTortoise]

To the best of my understanding that’s unnecessary. I build mine outside and wrap them with weed barrier. As long as you don’t blow a fan directly on them you really don’t need anything beyond another acoustically transparent fabric (hopefully prettier than the weed barrier). I use rock wool but if it worries you go for alternative fibers like processed hemp, fungi, or jean.

[@ArvidNielsen]

Good stuff. I’m in..

[@wendyslittleprogram3984]

So is another takeaway from this video that if you are hearing problems in your bass at the listening position, then it's not necessarily due to your corners not being treated?

[@alambe7275]

That’s what he said at the end of this video but at the beginning, he said we should focus on the base build up so it’s a little confusing Guy got a learn to keep it simple

[@ReTrOxJoKeR33]

Can you teach us how to properly make the diffuser fronts? I’ve already made the panels just need to add the diffuser part of it

[@Pattarns_Music]

I'll tell you what I have deduced from watching a lot of his creations: he uses wood rods of around 4 cm wide. I suppose they're around 1 cm thick. The pattern that always seems to come back is that you have thin and thick wood slats (so 1 or 2 rods), and thin and thick gaps (essentially the same width as the thin and thick wood slats). So you have 4 possible combinations. The one behind him in this video has thick wood/thin gap Thin wood/thick gap Thin wood/thin gap and eventually thick wood with an extra thick gap and one more rod of wood on the side. I'd love to see this explained in more detail too :)

[@Thomsonaudio1]

@@Pattarns_Music I think it's part of his acoustic course.

[@MrSebify]

It’s all in the course. And believe me - it’s worth every penny.

[@ReTrOxJoKeR33]

@@MrSebify okay I’ll have to save up for it I guess, hopefully he has a sale on it bc I remember seeing the price and thinking it was too expensive

[@Pattarns_Music]

@@ReTrOxJoKeR33If you read the full gearspace thread and read all the links they post you will have a good idea. I know I get it now :D One more thing is to make sure there is no regularity in your sequence of slats (so no small-medium-big repeating multiple times but more randomization). With all this in mind you should do fine. Good luck!

[@LeO.0680]

Newbie here My build up is right in the centre of the room!

[@alexanderewing3779]

Hi Jesco. Happy New Year! At the risk of revealing my obvious lack of knowledge on the subject of home studio treatment. I was wondering'? As my Tannoy gold 5's only go down to 70hz, presumably that's as low as the bass produced from my speakers. Do I therefore only have to worry about build-up at that frequency and treat my room, accordingly? Apologies again if I'm missing the obvious here but I'm a mere musician (of a certain vintage!) trying to keep up with things! Keep up the good work. Alex

[@channel-ls4uv]

Hi Jesco, I have a question about active Bass absorbers like the PSI AVAA c20. Do you have any experience with active bass absorption? I have a small room, actually a bit too small to work with a subwoofer. I wonder if active bass absorption really cancels out the bass energy or is the bass energy just moving to another place? Many thanks for all the good advice!

[@dougleydorite]

I’m about to order one for my room in a spot by the door where I can’t fit any normal traps

[@channel-ls4uv]

@@dougleydorite Nice one! I hope it will fix the problem

[@channel-ls4uv]

@@dougleydorite very curious to the results btw. It could be a really good solution for small rooms, but have not heard any real life experiences yet..

[@dougleydorite]

@@channel-ls4uv there is a good thread going on gearspace (if you can stomach that crapshoot) with a lot of discussion and tests, but ultimately mixed feelings and results. I have convinced myself to try it based on a solution that wouldn’t be addressed any other way. I will be attempting to take measurements and post data on gearspace as well

[@RaymanuelMuzik]

Thanks for all the great info Jesco!! Are soffit bass trap better than the regular 2x4 panel style bass trap?

[@BobbyLouxMusic]

new to your channel, great info I'm catching up on. have you done any videos on using Tube traps for bass control in corners or throughout? thanks!

[@arseniharkunou5905]

I thought my phone screen cracked but it was your cable ))

[@CyberBeep_kenshi]

Changed a lot in my room as of late, added gaia 3 feet on my monitor audio gx200. And really works. However...... (may be specific songs) but i get this bass hum between 40hz and 50hz with a peak at 46hz which really stands out. Without messing too much, is this a 'known issue' with some music, good type basstrap? Or other quick ideas? Song which shows it best so far: katie melua - belfast (in concert) Otherwise, quite happy so far:-)

[@danboy77]

Great advice thank you ! Do you think the chair you sit in can affect sound quality ? I sit on a hard leather sofa and I’m sure the sound is reflecting and causing a negative affect on the bass

[@bartsimpson2131]

Hi Jesco, hope you're doing well. Thank you for your time and effort, much appreciated in our community buddy! I am making your 6" bass traps, planning on covering them with plastic wrap for safety and then additionally covering them with some breathable material like Camira Cara...would that be ok? I asking because you stated that we can use plastic wrap/film to cover the wool, and that its ok, but you also said we should use breathable fabric, acoustically transparent to cover the panel. Does that mean that we can use non breathable to cover the wool, but breathable fabric for the outer visible layer? Thank you once again sir, take care!

[@bartsimpson2131]

Oh, just found the answer I was looking for on your website, your response to a comment. Thanks!

[@christianjacquet4095]

Bonjour , Vieux post ... mais je tente !!! Souvent , je vois des bass trap d'angle qui ne vont pas jusqu'en bas ni jusqu'en haut ..... ???? Bizard !!! Non ? Il y a une bonne raison ? Merci beaucoup , car je vais bientôt m'occuper de ça !!

[@chukah9484]

From my listening position I hear the bass build up in my rear left corner from a closet and it weighs the phantom center to the left rear kinda destroying the center for bass frequencies. Your answer makes me think still bass trap and if it doesn't work use pressure traps in that closet?

[@tritonedelta3464]

I don't think this approach makes much sense at all. Treating buildup of resonances and standing waves from corners will obviously effect what is happening at the listening position due to room modes/nodes. By decreasing that energy you will be able to have much more control over flattening the response curve. A very loud corner is going to mean steeper null points and peak buildup at your listening position.

[@anandshah71]

I am getting Rockwool that looks yellow brown is this safe and not toxic for I don’t want any issues since installing my house and families health more imp than treatment. Please guide

[@pistopitpit]

Hi Jesco. I’ve tried to download your bass traps guidance but when I receive an email to subscribe it is missing the button to subscribe. Could this be fixed please? Above happens on iPhone using Apple Mail app.

[@sudd3660]

i like corners with bass buildup, its where i place my absorbers

[@Worgram]

Hey Jesco! Great video as always! With every video it seems you get more confident which is amazing! One little wish: could you please remove some mouth clicks with a tool like spiff or izotope de-click? When listening on headphones (DT 1990) it´s a bit annoying. Thanks so much! Have a great day und Grüße aus Deutschland! :D

[@b1j]

I’ve considered packing my subwoofer with loosely folded, fluffy blankets around it. It’s front-firing without a back port, and it sits under my desk, about 12 to 18 inches from the back wall and a filing cabinet on one side. What do you think?

[@FOH3663]

What problematic issue are you addressing?

[@osliverpool]

I'm not an expert, but I'd suggest that if your sub doesn't sound great where it is... it needs to be somewhere else. Proper positioning for a sub can be time consuming, but I think it's worth it. And I don't think there is any substitute for good positioning.

[@FOH3663]

@@osliverpool Absolutely Sub placement and listener location are everything.

[@Methamill]

Jesco start the course already?! Is there any particular reason it is not on sale all the time? Thanks, not thanks hahahaa cheers! :D

[@plexibreath]

What effect does a sofa have in treating a room?

[@DruiiChannel]

soffening the sound

[@GameGuideClassic]

I've watched a lot of your videos and for the most part there good, but this one is incorrect in a lot of ways. Your axial modes all meet in the corners which is why it creates such powerful resonances. In a small/medium sized room, those resonances can reek havoc on the sound coming from your speakers. If what you said was true then nobody would ever treat anything outside of a direction reflection There would be no point. Trapping corners treats multiple room modes in one spot, and because corners are the easiest space in the room to lose, that's where the first line of defense is. This is why you get room gain from a subwoofer placed in a corner. There is a perfect example that is audible. Treating the corner properly has the same effect, just as a minus rather than a gain.

[@ctr289]

I've heard mineral wool particles get through fabric and it's very unhealthy, is it true? Is there a fabric type that doesn't let particles through?

[@Methamill]

Particles get everywhere, isolate with thin polyester or else. Mineral is more dangerous, but they both do stuff on the lungs.

[@chukah9484]

Look into esco binder mineral wool or any rigid board. The particles aren't really a major issue it's the low dose of formaldehyde that off gases and decays thats utilized in the binding agent. It is at a low enough dose that it's considered safe, and current rigid mineral wool / corning or rockwool doesn't causes lung issues / lung cancer. Majority of people have been living with this off gas'ing most of their lives from just the insulation in the walls of their house without notice. Some people can be sensitive to it even at low doses, usually people with asthma or reactive airway diseases may be able to notice in large amounts of freshly manufactured mineral wool. Those people go esco if they can afford it or just use a netting screen and any breathable cloth and air out your insulation for several days / long as you can before building panels and putting them in your room. Over time the formaldehyde chemical decays into the atmosphere but it will be strongest right out of the vacuum sealed packaging. Using any thin polyester or any nonbreathable material to cover the panels will make it so the panels will be reflective and not work to absorb frequencies as intended so ventilation or going esco is your best answer.

[@AnthonyHuttley]

I think it's fair to say that there is still a little bit of voodoo. Thanks for the vids, Jesco! They are incredibly helpful.

[@mr.fingers]

subscribed some time ago, still haven’t gotten my bass traps pdf…

[@osliverpool]

I did, and I think it's excellent.

[@pecacartun]

Corners are related to tangential modes, right?

[@FOH3663]

Corners are related to all modes... thus, the most effective place for treatment of modal resonances... all modes terminate in corners.

[@jimandrews2912]

Well the people upstairs might get annoyed lol

[@Triggaaar]

Hi Jesco I'd like to copy your Absorber Panels with a Diffusion Front (your 'slat model'). What width do you recommend for the slats and gaps? Thank you 🙏

[@alambe7275]

At the beginning of your video, you talked about focusing in on base build up in corners not base pressure at the end of your video you saying we shouldn’t worry about Bass build up in your corner we should focus on something else try to keep it simple you make it a little confusing

[@pdmcrew80]

First...standing wave coment

[@alt3rnatywa]

standing waves are not a big problem. ! you don't have to watch 38% of the length blah blah blah. you have to plan your listening point very well. ( The Phantom Speaker Test )

[@okcyurwin]

I can not understand the term "bass-trap or bass-trapping"?? Such a nonsense term. Means nothing but so many folks grasp hold on of an illusional belief that bass can be trapped 🤔

[@willyouwright]

to much talking not enough drawings and animations showing the physics..